This weekend I received an e-mail from /Film reader Tanner C. informing me that one of the screenwriters of Eagle Eye was working on a screenplay for Blade Runner 2. I spent the weekend trying to get confirmation, and thanks to my friend Frosty at Collider who was able to get in touch with a second person who was also at the event, I was able to confirm this to be true. But before you throw a hissy fit. let me fill you in on all the details and assure you that nothing is being developed by the studio itself, or with the studio’s involvement. Here is the original email:

“I recently attended a Q&A session with one of the writers of ‘Eagle Eye’ after a free screening organized by the magazine Creative Screenwriting. During the Q&A, the writer said that he and whomever it was that helped him co-write the ‘Eagle Eye’ screenplay were in the process of writing a sequel to Blade Runner, and had already contacted the producers of the original, etc., etc. This is probably a load of empty words/wishful thinking on his part, but I for one am appalled by just the notion of a Blade Runner sequel, and thought you’d be as well, so I thought perhaps you’d like to look into this yourself and perhaps use your soapbox to get some fanboys a little pissed, as well. If not, then at least you have a scoop.”

Okay first of all, lets make sure we know who exactly we’re talking about. The screenwriters in question are not Alex Kurtzman or Roberto Orci, but instead Eagle Eye co-writer Travis Wright (who was at the event) and his Eagle Eye co-writer John Glenn.

Wright produced a 2005 animated movie which spoofed disaster films, called Disaster! The Movie. While at UCLA, Wright won the Jack Nicholson prize in screenwriting for his WWII drama Hunting the Wolf. At one point Wright and Glenn were attached to write a remake of The Warriors for Tony Scott/Paramount and Louis Leterrier’s remake of Clash of the Titans.

Wright revealed at the Creative Screenwriting event that they have been working on various treatments for a Blade Runner sequel over the last couple years. And there is also the claim that recently the duo have been working with Blade Runner co-executive producer Bud Yorkin on the project. It should be noted that Yorkin likely doesn’t control the rights to a Blade Runner sequel, and all of this is being developed outside of the studio. But this isn’t just some small side project, Travis also claims that they are already working with a previsualization team on some of the hunter action sequences for their eventual pitch with the studio. I don’t believe that Ridley Scott is involved, but the screenwriting team has worked directly with his brother Tony Scott on projects, so their might be a possible connection.

All of this really scares the hell out of me. Blade Runner is one of the most beloved sci-fi films of all time, and it is a movie that doesn’t need a sequel. If Scott had an idea, and really believed it was worth making, then maybe MAYBE. But we certainly don’t need a sequel written by the second teir team of Eagle Eye. Lets hope to God this doesn’t happen.

« Last Edit: October 19, 2017, 05:39:40 PM by Jeremy Blackman »

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“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

EXCLUSIVE: After revisiting his classic Alien with the upcoming 3D Fox film Prometheus, Ridley Scott is committing to direct and produce a film that advances his other seminal and groundbreaking science fiction film from the past. Scott has signed on to direct and produce a new installment of Blade Runner. He’ll make the film with Alcon Entertainment, producing with Alcon partners Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. This would be the most high profile project for Alcon since The Blind Side. They got control of the franchise earlier this year, but it’s a whole different ballgame with Scott at the helm.

I’m not getting a clear sense at this point whether Scott intends to do a sequel or a prequel to the 1982 film that was loosely based on the Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Also unclear is whether they start fresh or reach out to Harrison Ford. The original took place in dystopian Los Angeles in 2019, in which organic superhuman robots called replicants escaped and are hiding somewhere on earth. Ford played Richard Deckard, a burnt out blade runner assigned to hunt them down. His tired life gets altered when he himself falls for one of the replicants and struggles to keep her from being destroyed.

The film was not a blockbuster when first released–it grossed $32 million in its original run–but the film has gained esteem over time. From the bleak but breathtaking visuals to the complex storyline and themes of mortality, Blade Runner became a classic. There has periodically been talks of doing a sequel but those never really went anywhere. After injecting state of the art 3D in reviving Alien, imagine what Scott can do with Blade Runner? Now, the filmmaker is ready to engage. Alcon has its output deal with Warner Bros, which remastered and released a 25th anniversary version on DVD and Blu-Ray in 2007. Warner Bros made the original film.

This is just the first step and the project will have to be written and it will likely evolve during that process. That’s what happened on Alien, which began as a prequel to his 1979 classic. That changed when Lost‘s Damon Lindelof came in with a different take on the subject matter that imprinted on Scott and Fox executives. They wound up making Prometheus, which Fox considers an original but which I’ve heard is a cousin to the original Alien franchise. That film will be released June 8, 2012, with Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace, Patrick Wilson, Idris Elba and Guy Pearce starring. Scott is repped by WME.

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“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

Veteran scribe Michael Green ("Green Lantern") is moving from superheroes to replicants, as he's in negotiations to write the sequel to "Blade Runner" for Alcon Entertainment and director Ridley Scott's production company Scott Free, an individual familiar with the Warner Bros. project has told TheWrap.

Representatives for Alcon and Green did not immediately respond to TheWrap's request for comment.

While Alcon hasn't officially revealed whether "Blade Runner" will be a sequel or a prequel to the original 1982 movie, an individual familiar with the sci-fi project has told TheWrap it will be set some years after the conclusion of the influential first film.

Scott will return to direct the "Blade Runner" sequel, and he's courting Harrison Ford to reprise his role as Rick Deckard.

Scott is producing with Alcon co-founders Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove, as well as Bud Yorkin and Cynthia Sikes Yorkin. Thunderbird Films CEOs Frank Giustra and Tim Gamble will serve as executive producers.

Released by Warner Bros. more than 30 years ago, “Blade Runner” was adapted by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples from Philip K. Dick’s groundbreaking novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” and directed by Scott following his landmark “Alien.” The film was nominated for two Academy Awards and led to numerous feature adaptations of Dick's other works.

Green, who got his start writing for "Smallville" and "Heroes," previously wrote "Green Lantern" and "The Flash" for Warners and DC Entertainment. He also wrote the epic Moses movie "Gods and Kings" for WB. He's repped by WME, 3 Arts Entertainment and Felker Toczek Gellman Suddleson.

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“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

Not much is known about Ridley Scott's planned BLADE RUNNER sequel, but we do know the GREEN LANTERN scribe might be writing the script, the protagonist could be a female and Harrison Ford probably won't be back. Or will he? Ford recently talked to IGN and they asked him if he would be interested in playing Deckard again for Ridley Scott. His response?

We've been chatting about it.

So that means Harrison Ford is at least open to the idea, and while Ridley Scott might still be bouncing around ideas for a BLADE RUNNER sequel, Deckard returning does sound like it could be a possibility. Harrison Ford was also asked if he has fond memories from working on the first film.

I remember [the first film] with 'complication. But I'm not there to generate nostalgic moments, I'm there to do a job of work. I quite understand that everyone has an ambition when they come into a film and everyone's ambition may not be so focused on the same thing. I truly admire Ridley as a man, and as a director and I would be very happy to engage again with him in the further telling of this story.

When asked if a voice-over while be featured in the sequel (something that was added to the original by the studio), Harrison Ford said "I'm now capable of losing my voice, cutting out my tonsils and my vocal chord." Seriously though, what about a voice-over?

"No, that was a big part of the issue. I didn't think it was necessary, and Ridley of course didn't think it was necessary. That was something that came up from the studio."

Not necessary is how some might describe a BLADE RUNNER sequel, but with Ridley Scott on board and Harrison Ford sounding like he's game to play Deckard again, I'm down with another film. Any guesses as to what the plot could be for the sequel?

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“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

Alcon Entertainment has an offer out to Harrison Ford to reprise his role of Rick Deckard in its Ridley Scott-directed sequel to Blade Runner. Original screenwriter Hampton Fancher and Michael Green are writing the new one, which takes place several decades after the conclusion of the 1982 original. Alcon acquired Blade Runner‘s film, television and ancillary rights in 2011 from producer Bud Yorkin to produce prequels and sequels of the sci-fi cult classic. Yorkin will serve as a producer on the sequel along with Alcon’s Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson. Cynthia Sikes Yorkin will co-produce. Frank Giustra and Tim Gamble, CEO’s of Thunderbird Films, will serve as executive producers. Alcon actually sent a press release out that it offered the role to Ford (which is unusual in itself), but Ford gave an interview recently saying he was anxious to see the script. He has expressed interest in reprising the role in the past, but no deal is set as he has yet to read the script.

If Ford agrees to the script, this is the second audience-pleasing role the actor would be stepping into. He is also set in the next installment of the Star Wars franchise as the actor is currently readying to reprise his role as Han Solo with Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill in Star Wars: Episode VII for filmmaker J.J. Abrams, which Disney plans to release December 18, 2015. Abrams is directing, co-writing the script with Lawrence Kasdan and producing with Kathleen Kennedy and Bryan Burk. The project recently had a read-through with key members of the cast.

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“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

I read somewhere that the announcement of the trailer on the start of trailers these days are because many of them auto-play as ads on YouTube, and even if you want to skip it you're forced to watch the 5 second super-cut before you're allowed to 'skip ad'. So I wouldn't say it's dumb. Pretty annoying still though.

This looks like a cross between Blade Runner and Only God Forgives - am I being too hopeful?

Also, am I the only one who wishes Harrison Ford wasn't in this? He looks like the weakest link from the footage so far.